


In For The Night

by suchanadorer



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angels don't age, F/F, Old Age, Prompt Fill, SRS 2012
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-12
Updated: 2012-11-12
Packaged: 2017-11-18 12:54:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,228
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/561277
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/suchanadorer/pseuds/suchanadorer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><a href="http://srs2012.dreamwidth.org/3911.html?thread=38215#cmt38215">Prompt at SRS 2012:</a> <i>The human gets old. The angel doesn't (at least, not visibly). How does this affect their relationship?</i>  I chose Anna and Jo.</p>
            </blockquote>





	In For The Night

Jo sighs, frowning at the woman staring back at her in the mirror. She pulls a lock of hair down in front of her eyes and cards her fingers through it, separating the strands until she only the silver ones remained. Then, just for good measure, she counts them. It seems like it might go faster to start counting the blonde ones, she reflects.

Anna leans against the door frame behind her, a reflection of ageless beauty over Jo’s shoulder. “Why do you do that?” She asks, watching Jo in the mirror.

“My mother always said grey hair was a sign of a life well lived,” Jo replies, sweeping her hair back away from her face. “That was usually right before she colored it again,” she adds with a smirk.

“Come to bed,” Anna says softly, extending a hand for Jo to take.

Jo turns away from the mirror and picks up her cane where it was resting against the side of the sink. It’s an ugly thing, stand hospital issue, but she refuses to let Anna get her a nice one because that would be tantamount to admitting she needs it. Years of refusing to acknowledge the damage the hellhound did to her leg had caught up with her, along with everything else in the life of a hunter.

She takes Anna’s hand and they walk together to the bedroom, turning off lights and checking doors and windows as they go. Living with an angel provides more than a little security, but old habits also die hard, and as the years go on it’s easier for Anna to accommodate Jo than to argue why it’s unnecessary.

They won, and they won a long time ago. Lucifer is gone, the demons are all locked away, and hunters have it pretty easy these days. That’s what had allowed Jo to retire. She’d taken over The Roadhouse after her mother passed, and while it’s still hers she spends most of her time nowadays perched on a stool watching other people work. It’s no less than she deserves after her role in saving the world.

Jo leans her cane against the nightstand and swings her legs up onto the bed, hissing as her body protests against the sudden movement. She’s wearing shorts and a tank top, all her scars and protective tattoos on display. She traces the ragged silver lines on her thigh, looking down at them thoughtfully while she waits for Anna to join her.

Anna slides into bed beside her, turning on her bedside lamp and opening her book. Jo looks up at her with panic in her eyes.

“We have to check the windows. Did we salt them all? There might be demons.” She moves to stand when Anna grabs her wrist and pulls her back down to bed.

A deep, unspeakable sorrow moves across Anna’s face like a shadow before she can manage to force a smile. “Jo. Jo, look at me.” Anna reaches out and gently cups Jo’s cheek, turning her head so that they’re face to face. “It’s okay. We won.”

Jo’s eyes search Anna’s face, and for a moment Anna is terrified that this will be the time when Jo fails to remember her. Anna had been prepared for Jo’s body to grow weaker, but she had never expected the slow, awful decay that had started to take away her mind.

Jo smiles and laughs nervously. “Yeah, right, of course we won. Right.” She nods and leans back against the headboard. Anna’s not convinced that Jo really remembers, but she’s learned that pushing for details will only make her close down and push Anna away.

Anna closes her book and returns it to her nightstand. She switches off the lamp and pulls the covers up over both of them. Jo stretches out under the blankets and Anna scoots closer to her, wrapping an arm around her waist and resting her head on Jo’s shoulder.

“I know I forget stuff, Anna. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Anna says, pushing up to press a kiss to Jo’s temple. “You always remember. Sometimes you just need a little reminding.”

“No, its not okay. I left the stove on and damn near burned down the bar, and I can’t drive the truck anymore because I get lost, and...” Her head thumps back against the headboard and Anna can feel her shaking as she starts to cry. “You’re an angel. Can’t you help me?”

Anna sighs and shifts so that she can look at Jo. She pulls her arm out from under the blankets and wipes at the tears rolling down her cheeks. “This is just time, my love. I can’t stop time.”

“It’s not fair,” Jo protests, and Anna can only nod in agreement. “Look at you,” Jo says, carding her fingers through Anna’s still-red hair, brushing her knuckles along her smooth, unblemished cheek. “People think you’re my daughter. Last week someone at the bar called you my granddaughter.”

“And you knocked two of his teeth out,” Anna reminds her with a laugh. This time Jo’s smile is vibrant and genuine, even if her eyes still glitter with tears. “You’ve still got a lot of life in you, and anyway I'm way older than you are."

At that Jo laughs, but it's a short, pinched sound. “But I’m tired all the time now,” Jo mumbles. She narrows her eyes and looks straight at Anna. “Do you know when I’m going to die?”

“No,” Anna answers right away.

“Would you tell me if you did?”

Anna is slower to answer now. She gives a little shrug and tries to play it off, but she knows Jo won’t let it go. “I would make sure I was there when it happened. I would be with you.”

“What will you do after?” Jo asks.

Anna tuts and looks away. “Do we have to talk about this?”

Jo sighs and shakes her head. “I just. I want to know, you know? You’re an angel, shouldn’t you know all this stuff?”

“I wasn’t an angel for a long time. I was a human, and I watched people die, and I promise it’s nothing to be afraid of. You’re not gonna die bloody, and you won’t be alone.”

Jo leans over to her nightstand and picks up the framed photo there. In it, Ellen is smiling broadly, standing between Jo and Anna, both resplendent in white gowns with veils and colorful bouquets. They are both kissing her on the cheek.

“You remind me so much of her,” Anna says, snuggling in beside Jo to look at the photo.

“Because I’m old, stubborn, and get in everyone’s way?” Jo runs her thumb over the glass as she speaks, her eyes softening with fondness.

“Because you love so fiercely. You’ll fight for the people you love, even if they don’t understand it. You’ve got a heart bigger than this whole town, but you don’t want anyone to know it.”

“Will she be there?” Jo asks softly, placing the frame back on her nightstand.

“Yes,” Anna answers, sliding back down under the blankets and curling up against Jo’s side. “And so will I. The day you go, I go too.”

“That’s okay, then.” Jo’s eyelids droop, and Anna brushes a lock of hair away from her face. “Sleep well, sweetheart.”

“You too, angel,” Jo murmurs, already half asleep.


End file.
